


A Promise For Tomorrow

by isshikisenpai



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/F, Gen, Original Character - Mayuri, she's a little girl who's also there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-25
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-09 03:49:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5524304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isshikisenpai/pseuds/isshikisenpai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Saeko's pre-Christmas plans are planned for her, thanks to her brother. But she can't say she's particularly unhappy, especially if it means she gets to meet Shimizu for the first time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Promise For Tomorrow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [skytramp](https://archiveofourown.org/users/skytramp/gifts).



“I'm home!” Ryuu called out as he stepped inside the front door. He groaned a sigh of relief, glad to finally be out of the icy cold winds outside. Taking off his scarf and shoes at the same time, he trudged in slowly, walking straight towards the kitchen.

“Oh Ryuu, welcome home!” He was met with the sight of Saeko grinning at him, her cheeks covered with smudges of chocolate.

“You have chocolate on your face,” Ryuu said with a yawn, walking towards her to rub it off her cheeks. 

“Thanks, Ryuu!” Another grin.

“What are you making?”

“Karaage. Here.” Saeko indicated for Ryuu to open his mouth and he eagerly obliged, accepting a small piece of the fried chicken. 

“Whoa – it’s good.” He reached out to grab another piece but Saeko quickly swatted his hand away.

“Wait till dinner,” she said, but her actions said another thing entirely as she ate some chicken herself, laughing at Ryuu.

“Why the chocolate then?”

“I was practicing baking cakes for Christmas. Do you wanna try some?”

“Your cooking is good but your baking is bad so I'll pass.”

“Oi – what did you say?” Saeko grabbed a hold of her brother's ear and pulled him towards her.

“AAA – OKAY I take it back, I take it back!” As she let go, Ryuu backed off with a pout. He took out his phone, using his front camera to see his ear. “You made it go red.”

“Eating my cake will make it better,” Saeko smirked.

Ryuu was just about to begrudgingly try a piece of the odd-looking cake placed haphazardly on the kitchen counter when a thought crossed his mind.

“I’ll eat the whole thing if you do me a favour.”

“Oh?” She raised her eyebrow. “The whole thing?”

“With great responsibility comes great sacrifice.”

“I don’t think that’s how it goes.”

“Just pretend okay?”

Saeko couldn’t help but laugh at his pleading eyes. “Alright, hit me.”

“Okay, you know the Christmas party at the community centre on Christmas Eve? The one for the kids?”

“Yeah.”

“The team is volunteering on Christmas Eve but they also need people tomorrow to help set everything up.”

“Tomorrow huh?”

“Yeah, except we have training tomorrow and Shimizu-san is the only one who can go BUT SHE CAN’T GO ALONE NEE-SAN PLEASE WILL YOU GO TOO?” Ryuu abruptly raised his voice and fell to his knees, grabbing a hold of Saeko’s hand and gripping it tightly. She would’ve been taken aback if this wasn’t something of a common occurrence when it came to Shimizu. Saeko thought she might entertain herself for a while before giving in. Ryuu didn’t have to know how much she wanted to go tomorrow.

“Is there no one else who can go?” She asked as she finished up cooking the last bit of chicken. Despite Ryuu still holding onto her left hand, she moved the pan of hot oil away from the stove and turned it off.

Ryuu’s grip on her hand loosened and he cleared his throat. Saeko turned to look at him, biting her lip to suppress her laughter at the sight of him pleading on his knees, and Ryuu hastily looked at the ground, avoiding her eyes.

“Well, I actually already told Shimizu-san that you’d do it.”

“You what?”

Ryuu tightened his grip again. “I’m sorry, please go.”

“Now I’m going to need more incentive than you eating the cake.”

“I could die eating your cake.”

“Do you want me to go tomorrow or do you want to disappoint your Shimizu-san?”

Ryuu’s eyes darted around, trying to think of something with more pull. He threw on his best puppy dog face and pitiful eyes and looked up at Saeko again.

“I’ll eat two cakes?”

Saeko couldn’t help herself any longer and broke out in laughter. She had expected something stupid but ‘two cakes’ had taken her by surprise. _Are my cakes really that bad? Too bad he has to eat two now._ Looking at her brother with fondness, she thought it was about time she gave up the act. Giving his head a slap  –  “OW!”  –  she pulled him up.

“Alright I’ll go.” She smiled. “Get changed for dinner.”

Ryuu jumped up and embraced her in a tight hug.

“You’re the best!”

Saeko slapped his head once again. “I know,” she grinned, swiftly pushing him out of the kitchen. “Now go change.”

Ryuu stumbled out into the hallway to the sound of Saeko’s laughter. Seeing him hurry over to his room and begin changing out of his uniform with the door open she let out a sigh. _Ah… idiot. What was he thinking volunteering me to go? I guess now I can finally meet her..._

With a sigh, she let her mind wander, thinking about Shimizu. On and off throughout the rest of the evening, she wondered what tomorrow might be like, and it wasn’t until the late hours of the night when she finally gave herself up to sleep.

***

“Here’s your name-tag, Tanaka-san!” said the young male receptionist with a level of enthusiasm uncommon for the cold winter morning. Despite being inside the warm foyer of the community centre, the chill from outside could still be felt thanks to the children running around in front of the automatic doors.

Saeko reached out and grabbed the sticker from the man with a loud yawn.

“Sorry – sleep deprived.” She waved her hand with a nod. “Thanks for the name-tag.” As she smiled at the receptionist, she glanced at the other name-tags on the counter and saw Shimizu’s. _She’s not here yet, huh…_

Saeko looked around and saw the half decorated Christmas tree that was just past the foyer and was called over by the younger children playing with tinsel.

“Onee-san, are you here to help us decorate?” A small young girl, probably around 3 or 4 years old was standing by Saeko with a soft grip on her leg, her eyes wide with curiosity.

“Mhmm – I am.” Saeko grinned as she picked her up, holding her by her waist, and she laughed as the little girl’s face lit up.

“What’s your name?”

“Mayuri.”

“Do you want to decorate the top of the tree, Mayuri-chan?”

“YES!” Mayuri, giggled with excitement.

With a soft grunt, Saeko lifted Mayuri up again, this time to sit her up on her shoulders. Saeko couldn’t see her anymore but she could certainly hear her, and Mayuri’s elation reminded her of childhood; seeing a small Ryuu just as excited on top of their father’s shoulders.

As the two were working in unison to decorate the tree and share jokes at the same time, Mayuri momentarily stopped and tugged at Saeko’s hair.

“Onee-san, look. Someone just walked in.”

Saeko looked up and in the distance saw a teenager walk through the entrance. She was around average height but seemed taller, her limbs slender. Her black hair flowed around her face softly, moving with the winter breeze. To Saeko, she seemed like something out a commercial, almost too unreal to be just another volunteer at the centre. Distracted, she had given up on her tree decorations and partially tuned out the voices of Mayuri and the other children; although she did agree about their comments on how pretty the new girl was.

Saeko began to feel a little tense and she wasn’t quite sure why. Perhaps it was because she was hoping this new face was the Shimizu she had heard so much about. She continued to watch her from the distance as she went up to the receptionist and received her name-tag. She seemed courteous, just a few words spoken and a polite bow to match. Before Saeko had a chance to see the name-tag clearly, Mayuri tugged on her hair again, pulling her face to look back towards the Christmas tree.  

“Onee-san, help!” Without Saeko noticing, Mayuri’s long sleeved shirt had gotten stuck on the tree, the end of her sleeve stretching out while her hand had retreated into the rest of her shirt. By the time Saeko helped detach Mayuri’s clothes from the tree and had turned back to the receptionist desk, the girl was gone from the counter. In fact she was standing beside her.

“Holy sh – !” With a gasp Saeko stepped backwards, almost stumbling into the Christmas tree. Luckily for her, she didn’t hit it. Unluckily for her, it was an embarrassing move regardless; even the children were laughing. Looking out the corner of her eye, she saw the girl smiling, almost trying not to break into a laugh. It felt like a scene out of a Western Rom-Com film; a notch up from a commercial. _Girl falls for beauty who smiles like an angel. Ah... What have I become..._

“Sorry. Did I scare you, Tanaka-san?” The young teenager had bowed and was smiling politely at Saeko, her lips almost creeping into a grin.

“Wait – how do you know my – “ _Wait. Name-tag._ Saeko glanced down at the girl’s name-tag and breathed in sharply. _Shimizu Kiyoko. It’s actually her._ “Oh.”

“Tanaka-kun mentioned you would be coming today so I approached you when I noticed the name-tag.”

“Ah, right. I saw you walk in but I didn’t know what you looked like beforehand so I wasn't sure if it was you. Nice to me–” Just as Saeko was about to finish her sentence Mayuri tugged on her hair once again, this time a little harder.

“Onee-san, you need to decorate the tree!” Mayuri tried to be stern but her soft voice just made her seem cuter. Saeko laughed and Shimizu did too.

Saeko turned to see her. _Girl falls harder for beauty who also laughs like an angel_ . Saeko’s heart fluttered a little at the sight of Kiyoko laughing, her eyes like crescent moons and her cheeks a little flushed. _Damn._

“Sorry, I couldn’t help but laugh,” Kiyoko said.

“It’s fine.” _You looked beautiful, you shouldn't be saying sorry, I should be saying thanks._ “Anyway, are you coming tomorrow too?”

“I AM, ONEE-SAN!” Mayuri cheerfully responded instead of Shimizu, bringing laughter again.

Saeko grabbed a hold of her hands before she had a chance to pull her hair again. “Do you pinky promise?”

Mayuri squeezed her pinky. “Yes!”

“I promise, too.”

Saeko looked over at Shimizu. She hadn’t expected her to say that and she certainly hadn’t expected to see her outstretched pinky.

With a smile, Saeko reached her own pinky out and crossed them.

“Pinky promise.” She placed her thumb against Kiyoko’s, surprising her a bit, and grinned. “With the thumb.”

**Author's Note:**

> merry christmas laura!!!! i hope you like it (◍•ᴗ•◍)


End file.
